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I also have to ask: Where are all the education startups? We have a massive, high-speed communication tool and I don't see much changing with respect to educat

by daeken 16y ago

I also have to ask: Where are all the education startups? We have a massive, high-speed communication tool and I don't see much changing with respect to education. There are a few things out there (the Khan Academies of the world), but they're very few and far between.

mmorris 16y ago
While it may not be considered by most as a "startup" at this point, I think that in the long run Wikipedia will have a major impact on education, in the sense of the knowledge base of the average individual. I can't quantify the amount I've learned from wikipedia articles over the years, but I'm quite certain it's an awful lot. If I had grown up with access to it I'm pretty sure the impact would be far greater. Sure, when I was a kid we had an encyclopedia, but A) a lot of kids don't, and B) wikipedia is thousands of times more powerful than an encyclopedia (and reading one article will often lead one down a path through various other articles too). Is it going to replace public schools? Obviously not. But it has and will change education for the better.
jlees 16y ago
Especially given pg's comments on education in 'Hackers and Painters' (which I just finally read). Yeah. Why on earth aren't we solving this? It's because it's not just hard (as in hard math, or hard code, or hard sell) but it's actually very hard work, and while people like to be remembered as the billionaire who invented something, they don't care so much for being the philanthropic [mo/fa]ther of today's educational system. I think Jolie's right, to some extent -- we are selfish, and the demands of selfish people make us think we are creating things of value. It's easier to create something for pleasure and gratification or to solve an obvious problem than to entirely overhaul a nationwide, endemic problem with hundred year old roots, red tape up the wazoo and a severe shortage of cash.

by daeken 16y ago

mmorris 16y ago

While it may not be considered by most as a "startup" at this point, I think that in the long run Wikipedia will have a major impact on education, in the sense of the knowledge base of the average individual. I can't quantify the amount I've learned from wikipedia articles over the years, but I'm quite certain it's an awful lot. If I had grown up with access to it I'm pretty sure the impact would be far greater. Sure, when I was a kid we had an encyclopedia, but A) a lot of kids don't, and B) wikipedia is thousands of times more powerful than an encyclopedia (and reading one article will often lead one down a path through various other articles too). Is it going to replace public schools? Obviously not. But it has and will change education for the better.

jlees 16y ago

Especially given pg's comments on education in 'Hackers and Painters' (which I just finally read). Yeah. Why on earth aren't we solving this? It's because it's not just hard (as in hard math, or hard code, or hard sell) but it's actually very hard work, and while people like to be remembered as the billionaire who invented something, they don't care so much for being the philanthropic [mo/fa]ther of today's educational system. I think Jolie's right, to some extent -- we are selfish, and the demands of selfish people make us think we are creating things of value. It's easier to create something for pleasure and gratification or to solve an obvious problem than to entirely overhaul a nationwide, endemic problem with hundred year old roots, red tape up the wazoo and a severe shortage of cash.